


The Second Time Christmas Was Almost Ruined...

by CapsicleGames



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: I Tried, Marvel Secret Santa, Marvel Secret Santa 2014, but they don't, cause friendship is more important, science bros almost ruin christmas, team fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 08:21:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2844371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapsicleGames/pseuds/CapsicleGames
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which disaster strikes on Christmas Day in Avengers Tower. A team fic</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Second Time Christmas Was Almost Ruined...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [avenging-insanity (dawnthatshines)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=avenging-insanity+%28dawnthatshines%29).



> So I broke my hiatus in order to write this fic for the tumblr Marvel Secret Santa 2014. This is a team fic for avenging-insanity. I hope it's okay!

The Avengers had spent most of their time in the tower prior to Christmas Eve decorating and making the tower as festive as possible. It all started on the first day of December when Thor dragged in a huge Christmas tree and set it up in the center of the common room. The team sang yule tide carols as they decorated each branch with ornaments and lights. When they were done adorning the tree, Thor edged his way forward with the finishing touches to add to the top. He placed a beautiful angel on the very top of the tree and straightened it so that the beautiful silks it wore cascaded down. It was absolutely beautiful with braided hair and bright blue eyes.

Steve took over the kitchen and had everyone decorate gingerbread houses, cookies, and a huge cake to be eaten on Christmas day. Natasha made sure the halls were decorated with wreaths and placed jars of candy canes on every side table. Clint provided the gift wrap for the presents under the tree, while Bruce sent out cards to loved ones they all knew, and Tony made sure they were well stocked up on some eggnog. They were determined to have the best Christmas they could that year, and that included making sure decorations were top notch.

But the common room in Avengers Tower was no longer covered in festive decorations on Christmas morning, but in ash. Every surface in the common room was covered in black, the Christmas lights adorning the walls filthy, cracked, and sagging. Even the little electronic carousel that Natasha setup herself was covered in the residue. The horses were still spinning around, it’s movement more stiff and robotic.

That wasn’t even the worse part.

In the center of the room stood the burnt remains of what was once a grand Christmas tree but was now just a jagged trunk sticking straight out of a pot with three lopsided branches. Smoke was still coming from it, feeling the air with the smell of sticky sweet sap mingled with burnt wood. The grand angel that Thor had placed at the very top now hung precariously balanced off the tip of the trunk. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that the angel’s face had been burnt off, revealing a metal interior and a pair of beady glass eyes.

It looked like hell finally came through their front door, and right underneath the wreckage of the tree was none other than Tony Stark. Bruce was stuffing various suspicious vials and beakers into a bag, a pair of goggles resting in his dark curls. When he realized that the others had entered the room, he slowly stood up and inched his way towards them. Tony scrambled to his feet, wiping the ash off his iron man pajamas.

“It’s a sign! The zombie apocalypse is among us,” Clint spoke up first and dramatically raised his arms. “We need to suit up right now!”

“There are no zombies,” Steve sighed in exasperation. He couldn’t stop glancing between the tree trunk and Tony. 

“That sounds like something a zombie would say. I’m watching you, Rogers.”

Bruce stood by Natasha and stuffed his hands into his sweats, “The zombie apocalypse will never happen, Clint. It’s scientifically improbable.... at least the type of apocalypse you see in The Walking Dead.”

“And why would you even think a charred Christmas tree is the end of the world?” Steve gave Tony the side-eye. “This is the Grinch stealing Christmas again.”

“Excuse me Spangles? I know I did not just hear you give me shade over there.”

“Well who else’s fault would this be?” Steve swept his arms around the room. “You ruined everything last year too, remember?”

“That was a one-time deal!” Tony countered.

“Last year for Christmas you came in drunk and urinated all over the dinner that I prepared,” the captain started counting on his fingers. “New Years was even worse when we spent the whole night with Clint in the emergency room, Valentine’s Day you made Pepper cry so you had to crash everyone else’s dates, you ruined the Easter Egg hunt in Central Park, Bucky’s arm - ”

“Okay, I may have done some things in the past that weren’t holy, but this time I swear it wasn’t just me. It was Bruce - ”

“Hey, don’t blame it on Bruce!” Natasha intervened, holding on to the man in question. Bruce opened his mouth to say something but then decided to close it when all eyes were on him. “We all know how much he loves Christmas.”

“We were having science bro time and he wasn’t paying attention to - ”

“Stark, please take responsibility for your actions so that we can move on and fix the rest of our Christmas,” Thor said. “It’d just be best for everyone if you accept your mistake.”

“Mistake? He did it on purpose!” Steve looked like he was going to give birth to a goose. “I don’t understand what we’re doing wrong here. Is there something you want to talk to us about?”

“But it wasn’t on purpose! We were just fooling around - ” Tony stopped when he realized everyone was giving him a skeptical look - with the exception of Bruce of course. Tony turned to his science partner as a last ditch effort to explain what happened. “Bruce, just say something okay? You’re letting me down.”

Bruce was shaking like a leaf and guiltily looked around the room before dropping his gaze to the floor. “I did have a hand in it. We were testing a growth serum on the tree and ended up...exploding it.”

“Oh no. You don’t have to feel bad about it,” Natasha soothed and placed a hand on his back. “It’s okay. You didn’t mean it.”

“Yeah man,” Clint added with a tone of pity. “Mistakes happen. I’m sorry if we scared you, bro.”

“What?” Tony squawked. “Uh, where’s my apology?”

“You don’t get one.” Natasha snapped. “You ruined Christmas again.”

“What the hell?” Tony threw his arms up. 

“Christmas isn’t ruined,” Thor said and the whole room turned towards him. He walked up to the burnt trunk of the tree and laid a hand on it. “The spirit of Christmas is spending time with those you love, correct?”

“Yeah,” Barton said. “And presents.”

“Then let us simply celebrate in another way! We don’t need a grand tree and decorations to have a good Christmas,” Thor took down the angel and cradled it in his arms. “Although we put in an honorable amount of work, we still have each other and that is what matters.”

“Well, the food hasn’t been disturbed,” Steve offered. “We can maybe have a movie night downstairs and move everything there for the day.”

“Perfect,” Thor said.

“The gifts are a little dirty but they should be fine,” Clint inspected a few and smiled. “Merry Christmas guys.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Tony said. “JARVIS put some holiday movies in a queue.”

They all got to work on relocated to the floor below with a nice home theater. They spent the day watching movies, laughing, opening gifts, and eating the delicious meals Steve provided. It wasn’t what they originally planned to do, but it worked. Christmas wasn’t ruined after all.


End file.
